Sustainable Tourism

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

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Carré civique, le soutien générationnel

Jonathan Semah 6 minute read Preview
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Carré civique, le soutien générationnel

Jonathan Semah 6 minute read Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

Je donne en famille consiste à lever des fonds pour l’avenir du carré civique. La particularité de ce soutien c’est qu’il implique différentes générations, notamment les plus jeunes qui peuvent parfois se sentir éloignés des sujets liés au patrimoine.

David Dandeneau tente de partager son engagement à tous et à différentes générations.

Le membre du conseil d’administration des Ami.e.s du Carré civique de Saint-Boniface (ACCSB) a eu l’idée de lever des fonds pour notamment assurer des dépenses opérationnelles et à terme préparer également le processus d’appel d’offres que s’apprête à lancer la Ville de Winnipeg.

C’est à travers l’ACCSB, qui a reçu le statut officiel d’organisme de bienfaisance et peut donc recevoir des dons depuis mars 2022, que le monde pourra donner ponctuellement pour cette campagne.

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Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

Marta Guerrero photo

Bintou Sacko (à gauche) et David Dandeneau

Marta Guerrero photo
                                Bintou Sacko (à gauche) et David Dandeneau
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Rare red auroras dazzle as part of Manitoba light show

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read Preview
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Rare red auroras dazzle as part of Manitoba light show

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025

Solar storm chasers, rejoice: 2025 was an excellent year for aurora borealis, and the remainder of the year could be just as active.

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Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025

Owen Humphreys/ The Associated Press

The aurora borealis glow in the sky over St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast, England.

Owen Humphreys/ The Associated Press
                                The aurora borealis glow in the sky over St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast, England.
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Hurrying hard for Jamaican flavours infusing West St. Paul Curling Club

David Sanderson 7 minute read Preview
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Hurrying hard for Jamaican flavours infusing West St. Paul Curling Club

David Sanderson 7 minute read Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

WEST ST. PAUL — This month marks a full decade since Vincent Dennis opened a Caribbean-flavoured restaurant inside the West St. Paul Curling Club.

And although it could be assumed that a person who has spent that much time in the vicinity of rocks and rings would have picked up a thing or two about the roaring game by now, that doesn’t appear to be the case with the Jamaican-born owner of Tropical Thunder.

Not even close.

“I’ve been here since 2015 and I still don’t have a clue what I’m staring at,” Dennis, 52, says with a chuckle, seated at a table offering a perfect view of the 62-year-old club’s four curling sheets.

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Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

photos by JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS

Donna Taylor, social marketing manager, and Vincent Dennis, owner of Tropical Thunder located at 431 Grassmere Rd.

photos by JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
                                Donna Taylor, social marketing manager, and Vincent Dennis, owner of Tropical Thunder located at 431 Grassmere Rd.
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Puppy Sphere yoga chain rolls out ‘mood-boosting’ first classes in Winnipeg

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Preview
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Puppy Sphere yoga chain rolls out ‘mood-boosting’ first classes in Winnipeg

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

Winnipeg yogis seeking to do a downward dog while surrounded by dogs are in luck: puppy yoga is here.

Toronto-based company Puppy Sphere began offering weekend yoga classes at Yoga Public (280 Fort St.) earlier this fall.

Each class consists of a 45-minute yoga flow led by a certified instructor, while puppies from local rescues and breeders roam the studio. The class is followed by a 30-minute wind-down that includes refreshments and canine cuddles.

Puppy Sphere founders Francesca Albo and Lea Burbidge Izquierdo said the classes began selling out almost immediately, which led them to add Thursdays to the schedule. The entrepreneurs are actively looking for a Winnipeg studio of their own.

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Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

SUPPLIED

Puppy Sphere offers yoga classes led by certified instructors while puppies roam the studio and interact with participants.

SUPPLIED
                                Puppy Sphere offers yoga classes led by certified instructors while puppies roam the studio and interact with participants.
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The necessity of the arts

Katarina Kupca 4 minute read Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025

It’s easy to take arts and culture for granted. Not because they don’t matter, but because they’re woven so deeply into our daily lives.

They’re in the stories we tell, the music in our earbuds, the festivals that bring neighbours into the streets and the murals that brighten our downtowns.

Arts and culture are part of who we are as Manitobans.

But the arts aren’t just “nice to have.” They’re essential. Especially right now.

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The road not taken: lowest number of Manitobans in three decades cross border at Pembina in July, August

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Preview
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The road not taken: lowest number of Manitobans in three decades cross border at Pembina in July, August

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025

Many Manitobans appeared to skip U.S. road trips over the summer as the number of southbound travellers hit at least a 30-year low — excluding COVID-19 pandemic years — at a major border crossing south of Winnipeg.

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Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES

Fewer Canadians are driving across the border into the U.S.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
                                Fewer Canadians are driving across the border into the U.S.
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Chinese landscape architect Yu Kongjian among 4 killed in a plane crash in Brazil

Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview
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Chinese landscape architect Yu Kongjian among 4 killed in a plane crash in Brazil

Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The crash of a small plane in southwestern Brazil killed four people including Chinese landscape architect and urban planner Yu Kongjian, Brazilian authorities said Wednesday.

The accident happened late Tuesday during a landing attempt at a large farm about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the municipality of Aquidauana in Mato Grosso do Sul state, firefighters said.

Yu, who was known for promoting ecologically sound development, was traveling with two Brazilian documentary makers, Luiz Fernando Feres da Cunha Ferraz and Rubens Crispim Jr., who were making a film about the Pantanal wetlands. All three were killed along with pilot Marcelo Pereira de Barros, authorities said.

Yu was know for developing the concept of “ sponge cities, ” with infrastructure that can absorb rainwater to mitigate flood risks and improve the urban climate.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

FILE - Architect Yu Kongjian speaks during an interview at his firm's office in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)

FILE - Architect Yu Kongjian speaks during an interview at his firm's office in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
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Only moratorium can save moose population: MWF

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview
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Only moratorium can save moose population: MWF

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is calling for a moose-hunt moratorium in two parts of the province after aerial surveys showed “significantly declining” numbers of the animal.

“The populations may never bounce back,” the federation’s Chris Heald said Tuesday.

The advocacy group representing sport hunters and anglers issued a news release calling for the complete closure of the fall moose hunt in Duck Mountain and Porcupine Forest. It follows Manitoba Conservation’s 2023 aerial survey results, which indicate “significantly declining moose populations” in the game-hunting areas in western Manitoba.

It wouldn’t be the first time for a moose conservation closure there. In 2011, licensed and Indigenous hunters supported a full closure of the moose hunt after a 2010 survey the showed moose population had fallen in both areas to 2,471 animals.

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Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

Manitoba Conservation’s 2023 aerial survey indicated “significantly declining moose populations” in game-hunting areas in western Manitoba.

Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
                                Manitoba Conservation’s 2023 aerial survey indicated “significantly declining moose populations” in game-hunting areas in western Manitoba.
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Wildfires and the new normal

Tom Law 5 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

Wildfires like this aren’t normal. Stop trying to normalize them.

“Bring a pair of pants and a sweater to Clear Lake — it’s unseasonably cool because of the wildfires.” That was just one of those meteorological idiosyncrasies, attempting to reach back deep into long-forgotten geography lessons, that may seem obvious to those on the Prairies. But for the outsider, a visitor from Toronto, and indeed a relative newcomer to Canada, it was certainly a shock, and a stark reminder that I would be flying into a province still under a state of emergency, which had until recently been decimated by wildfires. It was also an introduction into what may be considered ‘normal’.

Visiting Manitoba this August was extraordinary — the people most certainly lived up to the “friendly” billing that adorns the licence plates, and the scenery of Riding Mountain National Park was worth the trip alone. However, there were a number of topics of conversation that made me question what I had come to know as accepted wisdom.

Talk about fishing restrictions, Indigenous rights, oil and gas permeated discussions, with healthy, good spirited debates. But for me, the most vexing issue was wildfires. More specifically, the extent of their aftermath, effects, and associated restrictions, have become normalized.

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On World Rhino Day, South Africa marks progress but still loses a rhino daily to poachers

Gerald Imray And Alfonso Nqunjana, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview
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On World Rhino Day, South Africa marks progress but still loses a rhino daily to poachers

Gerald Imray And Alfonso Nqunjana, The Associated Press 5 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

DINOKENG GAME RESERVE, South Africa (AP) — The Dinokeng Game Reserve in South Africa has a thriving rhino population, but their exact numbers and the details of the security operation that keeps them safe from poaching are closely guarded secrets.

They are the protocols that reserves with rhinos follow to ensure they're not the next target for poachers who still kill on average one rhino every day in South Africa for their horns despite decades of work to save the endangered species.

South Africa has the largest populations of both black and southern white rhinos of any country and sees itself as the custodian of the animals' future.

As conservationists mark World Rhino Day on Monday, South Africa remains in a constant and costly battle against poaching nearly 30 years after black rhinos were declared critically endangered, and more than a half-century since southern white rhinos were on the brink of extinction with just a few dozen left.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

A rhino is seen at the Dinokeng Game Reserve near Hammanskraal, South Africa, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana)

A rhino is seen at the Dinokeng Game Reserve near Hammanskraal, South Africa, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana)
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Winnipeg Jets fan support ‘like none other’

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Preview
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Winnipeg Jets fan support ‘like none other’

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

It was a vivid — and very noisy — reminder of just how hockey-crazed this community can be.

A dreary, rainy Saturday didn’t stop roughly 5,000 fans from packing into Hockey For All Centre to watch the Winnipeg Jets go through their training camp paces.

“It’s awesome. It just shows how great the support is, how great the community is,” said rookie skater Colby Barlow.

The 20-year-old from Ontario, selected 18th overall by the Jets in 2023, drew one of the loudest ovations when he buried a wicked one-timer off a Parker Ford feed to open the scoring during a scrimmage, which was the main attraction of the team’s annual Fan Fest.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Going with the flow: Molten master plan quickly bears fruit for dessert enterprise

David Sanderson 8 minute read Preview
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Going with the flow: Molten master plan quickly bears fruit for dessert enterprise

David Sanderson 8 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

On Sept. 13 and 14, Melted, a four-month-old enterprise that dishes out strawberries smothered in warm melted chocolate and assorted toppings, set up shop at the Allery, on the second level of The Forks Market.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025
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Small changes, big impact

Janine LeGal 6 minute read Preview
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Small changes, big impact

Janine LeGal 6 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Are you a climate champion or climate destroyer? Ecological quizzes and carbon-footprint calculators can help you find out.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Alexa Dawn, compost and waste reduction program co-ordinator at the Green Action Centre, has always been interested in environmentalism.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Alexa Dawn, compost and waste reduction program co-ordinator at the Green Action Centre, has always been interested in environmentalism.
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Introduction to Michif — one word at a time

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview
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Introduction to Michif — one word at a time

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Before the wolf can howl, Norman Fleury says a Michif word: Ooyoowuk.

“Ooyoowuk,” Fleury repeats. Or, in English, “howl.”

Ooyoowuk is one of 70 words articulated by Fleury with an animation and English translation to match — all bundled into digital flashcards.

A group of Métis entrepreneurs unveiled their Michif flashcards this week. They join a swelling movement to revitalize the Métis language, which combines languages such as Cree and French.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Co-creators of savemichif.ca, Grant and Aynsley Anderson, estimate they have produced 1,500 physical flashcard sets.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Co-creators of savemichif.ca, Grant and Aynsley Anderson, estimate they have produced 1,500 physical flashcard sets.
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St. Boniface residents drained after demolition of Happyland pool

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Preview
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St. Boniface residents drained after demolition of Happyland pool

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

As demolition continues at one outdoor pool in St. Boniface, a city councillor hopes to take a second look at extending the life of another one.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press

Crews work on demolishing Happyland outdoor pool on Marion Street, Thursday. In an attempt to convince city council to keep the pool open for another season, area residents raised $86,000 last year to go toward the pool’s operating costs. Instead, council cast a final vote to close the facility.

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
                                Crews work on demolishing Happyland outdoor pool on Marion Street, Thursday. In an attempt to convince city council to keep the pool open for another season, area residents raised $86,000 last year to go toward the pool’s operating costs. Instead, council cast a final vote to close the facility.
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North Dakota missing its Manitobans

Chris Kitching 7 minute read Preview
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North Dakota missing its Manitobans

Chris Kitching 7 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Kay Rone used to spot plenty of Manitoba licence plates outside stores, hotels and restaurants throughout Grand Forks on weekends in past years.

There haven’t been nearly as many since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.

“Now, you hardly see them in town,” said Rone, who owns Northern Roots Boutique, a women’s clothing store opposite Columbia Mall, which was once a big draw for cross-border shoppers.

She displays a window sign welcoming Canadians.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Kay Rone, who owns Northern Roots Boutique in Grand Forks, N.D., for years has displayed a sign in her window that welcomes Canadian shoppers. (Supplied)

Kay Rone, who owns Northern Roots Boutique in Grand Forks, N.D., for years has displayed a sign in her window that welcomes Canadian shoppers. (Supplied)
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Smash n Axe Arcade Disco opens in former Nor Villa Hotel banquet room on blueprint of nostalgia

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Preview
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Smash n Axe Arcade Disco opens in former Nor Villa Hotel banquet room on blueprint of nostalgia

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

The dream of the ‘90s is alive in North Kildonan, and it’s been given a 2025 twist.

Adam Dudek and Raj Maniar have fond memories of visiting arcades 30 years ago, playing games and seeing the designs on the carpets glow under black lights. So when they were decorating Smash n Axe Arcade Disco, the River East neighbourhood business they opened on Wednesday, they decided to give it a neon splash.

“We really wanted to bring people back in time and give them the feeling they had when they were a kid,” Dudek said.

Located in the basement of the Nor Villa Hotel (1763 Henderson Hwy.), Smash n Axe features more than 20 arcade games, including 11 pinball machines.

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Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Raj Maniar (left) and Adam Dudek, owners of Smash n Axe Arcade Disco, a new business that combines four axe throwing lanes, two rage rooms, numerous arcade games and a bar.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Raj Maniar (left) and Adam Dudek, owners of Smash n Axe Arcade Disco, a new business that combines four axe throwing lanes, two rage rooms, numerous arcade games and a bar.
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Clarity, ‘competitiveness’ key to name change

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview
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Clarity, ‘competitiveness’ key to name change

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

In some ways, the entity that helped draw the 2023 World Police and Fire Games, a studio for video game publisher Ubisoft and the 2025 Grey Cup to Winnipeg isn’t changing.

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Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press

‘In an increasingly competitive world, we need to cut through the noise and be as clear and as focused as we can be,’ says Ryan Kuffner, president of Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism, at the non-profit’s HQ at One Lombard Pl.

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
                                ‘In an increasingly competitive world, we need to cut through the noise and be as clear and as focused as we can be,’ says Ryan Kuffner, president of Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism, at the non-profit’s HQ at One Lombard Pl.
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Discovering public art by chance

Stephen Borys 5 minute read Preview
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Discovering public art by chance

Stephen Borys 5 minute read Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

A few weeks ago, on a bike ride through St. Boniface with my wife, we veered off the familiar path and stumbled upon something unexpected.

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Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025
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Province creates hunting buffer zone on Bloodvein First Nation

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview
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Province creates hunting buffer zone on Bloodvein First Nation

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

The Manitoba government is creating a buffer zone restricting where non-Indigenous hunters can harvest moose on Bloodvein First Nation’s traditional lands.

Manitoba Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie announced the change late Monday as moose season began for game hunting areas 17, 17A and 17B that includes the traditional areas of the First Nation, located 285 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The community, which established a check stop to prevent illegal drugs and contraband from entering the First Nation, warned “outside hunters” on social media weeks ago that they’re not welcome to take moose on their traditional lands.

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation has questioned the First Nation’s authority to block licensed hunters with a moose tag from the area and called on the provincial government to intervene.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

A moose grazes in a field of canola bordering the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon last year. On Monday, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation applied for a judicial review of the province’s decision to reduce the number of available moose tags for four hunting areas in northern Manitoba. (File)

A moose grazes in a field of canola bordering the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon last year. On Monday, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation applied for a judicial review of the province’s decision to reduce the number of available moose tags for four hunting areas in northern Manitoba. (File)
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Nation building needs research — not just infrastructure

Mario Pinto 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

Living through the second Trump administration as a Canadian has been likened, by one commentator, to a teenager being kicked out of the house. We must grow up fast and deal with the fact that we can now only rely on ourselves. So, the federal government is moving fast on files related to security, sovereignty and connectivity. The Liberals passed Bill C-5 to expedite projects that will help Canadians live on our own. Wonderful.

But.

In our rush forward, we cannot overlook the power of nation-building research, which must go hand-in-glove with these infrastructure projects. Research and infrastructure are not competing priorities: they are essential partners in nation-building.

Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, grants the federal government sweeping powers to quickly build large projects that help goods move faster and more easily. This act intends to strengthen our security, autonomy, resilience and advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples. But there can be no nation-building without nation-building research.

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Amazon’s Zoox launches its robotaxi service in Las Vegas

Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview
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Amazon’s Zoox launches its robotaxi service in Las Vegas

Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Amazon's Zoox on Wednesday launched its robotaxi service in Las Vegas, offering free rides through parts of the entertainment mecca for anyone willing to gamble on the safety of a driverless vehicle that operates without a steering wheel.

The Las Vegas debut of Zoox's long-planned ride-hailing service reflects Amazon-owned robotaxi maker's confidence in the safety of its boxy vehicles after two years of testing them in the city.

The robotaxis initially were only available to employees in Las Vegas before gradually expanding to friends and family members. Now, anyone with the Zoox app will be able to request a ride to five designated locations, including Resorts World, the Luxor hotel and the New York-New York hotel. The longest distance the Zoox robotaxis will travel is about three miles (4.8 kilometers) while carrying up to four passengers.

All rides will be provided for free for at least the first few months to help promote the existence of the service in the perennially popular travel destination. Once it begins charging for rides in Las Vegas, Zoox says its prices will be comparable to traditional taxis and ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Amazon-Zoox robotaxis are beginning to give free rides through parts of Las Vegas as part of its driverless service's launch. (Zoox Inc. via AP)

Amazon-Zoox robotaxis are beginning to give free rides through parts of Las Vegas as part of its driverless service's launch. (Zoox Inc. via AP)
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Clean air as privilege

Marwa Suraj 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 6, 2025

For elders with dementia, youth with anxiety, or evacuees coping with displacement, smoke is not just a public health irritant. It’s an accelerant for mental health issues.

You can’t put an N95 on your brain. You can’t tell your nervous system to calm down when the air outside looks like dusk at noon.

For older adults, people with asthma, families on fixed incomes, or those living in crowded apartments or trailers, wildfire season in Manitoba is more than just a nuisance. It’s a trigger. Of breathlessness. Of panic. Of helplessness.

And every year, the advice is the same:

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Offhand insult in 2003 gave rise to the Banjo Bowl — one of CFL's most-colourful and enduring rivalries

David Sanderson 11 minute read Preview
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Offhand insult in 2003 gave rise to the Banjo Bowl — one of CFL's most-colourful and enduring rivalries

David Sanderson 11 minute read Friday, Sep. 5, 2025

It was the verbal shot heard ’round the world. Or at least, across a pair of Prairie provinces.

Canadian Football League fans in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are well familiar with the origin of the Banjo Bowl, the annual tilt that pits the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers against their principal rival, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Followers of both teams can tell you that the match evolved out of a comment uttered by former Bombers placekicker Troy Westwood in September 2003, when he sarcastically referred to Saskatchewaners (Saskatchewanites? Saskatchewians?) as “banjo-picking inbreds.”

Then, how he doubled down on that jibe a few weeks later when, at a scheduled news conference, he told members of the media that he had misspoken, as “the vast majority of the people in Saskatchewan have no idea how to play the banjo.” (For the record, Westwood’s mom was born in the Land of the Living Skies, and his aunts and grandmother were living there when he was spouting off.)

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Friday, Sep. 5, 2025

THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Jermarcus Hardrick (51) holds the Banjo Bowl trophy as he celebrates with fans after defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders in CFL football action in Winnipeg Saturday, September 9, 2023.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
                                Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Jermarcus Hardrick (51) holds the Banjo Bowl trophy as he celebrates with fans after defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders in CFL football action in Winnipeg Saturday, September 9, 2023.